Keep Framingham Beautiful Week 2021: Citywide Litter Event Begins

FRAMINGHAM, MA — If you hate the sight of litter, now's your chance to do something about it.

The litter pickup group Keep Framingham Beautiful (KFB) is kicking off "Keep Framingham Beautiful Week" on Saturday. The weeklong event is aimed at organizing large and small groups of residents to scoop up all types of litter and trash.

KFP formed at the beginning of the pandemic when resident Michael Croci was trying to find an alternative way to celebrate Earth Day 2020 (his usual event in Framingham was called off due to the pandemic). He created a Facebook group where dozens of residents posted photos of their pandemic-safe litter pickup expeditions.

Around Earth Day in April, the group hosted a citywide litter pickup event. At the time, Croci said he wanted to move away from formal, organized litter pickups to more distributed events. An estimated 250 participated during Earth Day week across Framingham.

During Keep Framingham Beautiful Week, there will be three formal litter pickups that residents can coalesce around. But KFB wants residents to feel empowered to do smaller, localized pickups — even if it's just a few pieces of litter right outside someone's home.

To sign up to volunteer during the cleanup week, visit this KFB page. The three formal litter events are:

• Southside cleanup: Oct. 17, 9 a.m. Barbieri Elementary School, 100 Dudley Road
• Nobscot cleanup: Oct. 23, 8:30 a.m. Hemenway Elementary School, 729 Water St.
• Downtown cleanup: Oct. 24, 10 a.m. ātac: downtown arts + music, 160 Hollis St.

You can also find more information on the KFB Facebook page. Email keepframinghambeautiful@gmail.com with questions.